Today’s topic starts with the letter “Z”.
Today’s letter is "Z" for Zoisite. A mineral found in metamorphic and pegmatitic rock. It’s color can be blue to violet, green, brown, pink, yellow, gray, or colorless. It is said to be brittle and can have white or colorless streaks.
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| Yellow Zoisite |
Transparent stones are made into gemstones while translucent to opaque stones are used for carvings.
It was first described by Abraham Werner in 1805. He named it after the naturalist Sigmund Zois who sent him samples from Saualpe in Carinthia. Zois realized that this mineral was unknown when brought to him by a mineral dealer 1797.
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| Tanzanite |
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| Thulite |
Zoisite can be found in Tanzania, Kenya, Norway Switzerland, Austria, India, Pakistan and Washington state. There are several varieties of zoisite – Tanzanite from in Tanzania, Thulite found in Norway, and Anyolite found in Kenya.
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| Ruby Zoisite |
Another popular variety is Ruby Zoisite, green zoisite with opaque ruby crystals that is used for carving.
Sharing with my youngest daughter, the rock hound :)
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on completing the challenge! One of the difficulties of the challenge for me was finding the time to read all the posts I wanted, plus comment, but I'm looking forward to catching up over the coming months. I liked your theme, very interesting and informative. Best wishes for future blogging!
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